Prior to attending the 32 nd Fungal Genetics Conference in Asilomar, Dr Neriman Yilmaz and Prof. Brenda Wingfield had the privilege of touring Prof. Anne Pringle ’s laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison . This visit was facilitated by Prof. Pringle's previous sabbatical at FABI . During the visit, Dr Yilmaz delivered a seminar titled “Unveiling mycotoxins: The intersection of food safety and animal health with a South African perspective” while Prof. Wingfield contributed a seminar titled “A forty-year journey towards understanding the genetics and biology of a poorly understood but increasingly important pine pathogen”. In addition she taught a mycology class with Prof. Pringle - “African Mycology”. The visit proved to be highly productive, fostering collaboration with researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, including P rof. Nancy Keller and Dr Emile Gluck-Thaler , and enhancing engagement within the scientific community.